Arthritis treatment Gilbert: what helps a sore joint

What can I do about the soreness today?

Keep moving, but make the task easier. It's often better to take a short walk than stay in bed. Warmth may loosen stiffness. A cold pack can calm swelling after use. You'll put less pressure on some joints with good shoes, a cane or a brace. Don't take a common pill for granted. Have your pharmacist check whether it clashes with your other medicines.

Keep the changes that make tomorrow easier.

When should I have it looked at?

Book a visit when soreness keeps spoiling sleep, walking or chores. Go sooner when it's new or quickly getting worse. Bring notes about swelling, stiffness and work you can't do now. QC Kinetix offers visits for joint soreness. Its medical providers are the clinicians who'll examine your joint and perform care. They may discuss regenerative treatments, which are non-surgical shots prepared from your own body material. One choice is platelet-rich plasma (PRP). For PRP, they'll draw a small blood sample, spin it to gather the platelet-rich part and place that prepared plasma into your sore joint during the clinic visit that day. Results can differ, so ask what may change for you.

Leave the visit knowing the next step.

Which changes need quick care?

Don't wait when a joint gets hot, swells badly or won't move. Fever, sudden weakness, numbness or trouble bearing weight also need prompt care. You'll need help if the joint locks or keeps giving way. These signs aren't normal soreness after use.

Get care instead of testing the joint again.

Sources

1. The 2019 ACR/Arthritis Foundation guideline makes STRONG recommendations for exercise, weight loss in people with overweight or obesity, self-efficacy and self-management programmes, tai chi, cane use, hand orthoses for first-CMC joint OA, tibiofemoral bracing, topical NSAIDs for the knee, oral NSAIDs and intra-articular glucocorticoid injections for the knee; acupuncture, thermal modalities, radiofrequency ablation, acetaminophen, duloxetine and tramadol are only conditional.

   Kolasinski SL, et al. — 2019 American College of Rheumatology/Arthritis Foundation Guideline for the Management of Osteoarthritis of the Hand, Hip, and Knee.. Arthritis Rheumatol, 2020. DOI: 10.1002/art.41142.

2. The Cochrane review of land-based therapeutic exercise for knee osteoarthritis extracted data from 54 studies, with high-quality evidence from 44 trials (3,537 participants) that exercise reduces pain immediately after treatment, and further high-quality evidence that it improves physical function. Benefit attenuates but persists for at least two to six months after the programme ends.

   Fransen M, et al. — Exercise for osteoarthritis of the knee.. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2015. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004376.pub3.

3. In 1,212 Osteoarthritis Initiative participants aged 50+ with knee OA, those who walked for exercise had a LOWER likelihood of developing new frequent knee pain than non-walkers (odds ratio 0.6, 95% CI 0.4-0.8), and less progression of medial joint space narrowing - evidence against the belief that walking wears the joint out faster.

   Lo GH, et al. — Association Between Walking for Exercise and Symptomatic and Structural Progression in Individuals With Knee Osteoarthritis: Data From the Osteoarthritis Initiative Cohort.. Arthritis Rheumatol, 2022. DOI: 10.1002/art.42241.

4. A 52-week single-blind randomized comparative-effectiveness trial in 204 people with symptomatic knee OA found Tai Chi twice weekly for 12 weeks produced WOMAC improvement of 167 points versus 143 points for standard physical therapy, a non-significant between-group difference of 24 points. Benefits were maintained to 52 weeks and the Tai Chi group had significantly greater improvement in depression and the physical component of quality of life. No serious adverse events occurred.

   Wang C, et al. — Comparative Effectiveness of Tai Chi Versus Physical Therapy for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Trial.. Ann Intern Med, 2016. DOI: 10.7326/M15-2143.